Collective Agreements

Ryerson Faculty Association (RFA) Collective Agreement

This on-line version of the Collective Agreement between the Ryerson Faculty Association and the Board of Governors of Ryerson University is provided for the convenient reference of RFA members and other interested parties. If any conflict is found between this version and the official documents, the terms of the official documents will prevail.

EFFECTIVE: July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018

September 13, 2018

On September 13th, 2018, the university administration and the Ryerson Faculty Association (RFA) had the first mediation session with Mediator/Arbitrator Kaplan. Both parties were able to meet with the Mediator/Arbitrator separately to assist his understanding of each party’s respective positions. Further mediation dates have been scheduled. We remain committed to reaching a fair settlement with the Association. Further updates will be provided as they become available.

June 22, 2018

The Ministry of Labour appointed a conciliator and set the conciliation date for Friday, June 22, 2018. Both parties met with the conciliator, and the university administration requested a “no board report”.

As described in our previous update on June 12, 2018, a “no board report” can be requested by either party. The university administration is making this request in order to move directly to mediation to come to a settlement more quickly with a mutually agreed upon arbitrator with knowledge of the university sector. We’ve had success with this strategy in the past and believe that mediation will be more productive and effective than conciliation in reaching agreement between both parties.

We look forward to working with the RFA in the mediation phase of bargaining to achieve a renewal collective agreement.

June 12, 2018

On May 30, 2018, the Ryerson Faculty Association (RFA) requested the appointment of a conciliator from the Ministry of Labour. Under the RFA Collective Agreement this is one of the necessary steps on the path towards mediation/arbitration.

In order to expedite the process, the university is requesting to withdraw from conciliation (referred to as a “no board report”) in order to move directly to mediation with a mutually agreed upon arbitrator who has knowledge of the university sector.

Normally, “conciliation” or a “no board report” leads to the possibility of a strike or lockout; however, it is always important to note that the RFA Collective Agreement has a provision that there will be no strike or lockout. Therefore, at Ryerson, the appointment and withdrawal (“no board”) of a conciliator actually moves the parties into mediation/interest arbitration.

There are several reasons why the university administration has decided to take this step:

Mediation has worked better than conciliation in assisting both parties in reaching settlements, and so we’re drawing on our previous successful experiences in a way that is consistent with our collective agreement.

This moves the process forward in order to come to a settlement more quickly. It’s important to both parties to achieve a collective agreement as promptly as possible.

We can engage with a mediator who is experienced in the university sector and who is agreed upon by both the university administration and the RFA.

We remain committed to continuing to work with the RFA towards achieving a negotiated collective agreement with the assistance of a mediator.

We will continue to post updates on this page to keep you informed as changes occur.

March 29, 2018

The collective agreement between the University and the Ryerson Faculty Association expires on June 30, 2018. The University Administration and the Association commenced collective bargaining on March 28, 2018 and have scheduled regular negotiation sessions during the coming months with the hopes of achieving a negotiated settlement prior to the expiry of the current contract.